Rating: 5 stars
También de este lado hay sueños.
On this side, too, there are dreams.
Jeanine Cummins – American Dirt
Yes, I give this five stars.
Yes, I’m aware of the controversy.
No, I am not a member of the Latinx community, but if you’ll hear me out, I’ll explain.
Initially, because of the baggage that came with this powerful novel about Mexican migrants, I toyed with the idea of reading it in private to spare myself from the hassle of needing to form coherent words into a thoughtful review. Needless to say, here I am, with you, trying to explain why I give this novel five shining stars.
Let me back up for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about or have never heard of American Dirt.
American Dirt is a novel about a young mother from the Mexican city of Acapulco who is forced to flee the country with her son after her journalist husband publishes a tell-all profile about the jefe of the newest drug Cartel who recently took over the city.
American Dirt was published late last year in 2019 to an armful of praise and admiration.
The Grapes of Wrath for our times.
Don Winslow
American Dirt is an extrordinary piece of work.
Stephen King
This book is not simply the great American novel; it’s the great novel of Las Americas.
Sandra Cisneros
Finally, a story about Mexican migrants with HEART! Finally, a story that speaks to the masses about the challenges and obstacles migrants face getting to the U.S! Finally, a story with the power to change the hearts and minds of millions!
And then… Then.
We find out that Jeanine is not, in fact, Mexican at all. She’s Puerto Rican and considers herself mostly white, or at least that’s what the hailstorm of controversy at the time implied.
Suddenly #OwnVoices starts trending on Instagram (or Bookstagram for all my book lovers out there) and the Latinx community is up in arms about how this non-Mexican woman, a woman who was once quoted for saying she considers herself white. The struggles of Latinx migrants don’t apply to her. (I’d encourage everyone to read that essay first before judging the quoted text at face value. While it is damning and does paint Jeanine in a very white light, its only fair to assume her decision to claim her Latinx identity after the publication of American Dirt comes from a series of mistakes that led her wider opinion of her own identity. Call it fake, call it a mistake. As flawed humans, we’re entitled to both either way. You can read the full article here):
I will say this… as a member of the LGBTQ community, I can confidently confirm that reading work written by a fellow LGBTQ member would be much more impactful than reading work by a heterosexual cisgender male or female even if they got it right.
Because it’s about representation.
I understand that. I promise I understand that.
I support and respect #ownvoices. And while I believe the Latinx community has every right to be upset, I think the publication of American Dirt brought to light an issue many, many Americans – and even people around the world – may or may not have fully understood before. I can tell you right now that it opened my heart and eyes to the issues of migration more than any other book in the Latinx community, not because I’ve read tons of books by Latinx authors (because let’s face it, Latinx authors aren’t given nearly the publication attention they deserve so those books haven’t been on my radar) but because it was brought to the mainstream media in such a high fashion that I could no nothing other than give it my full attention.
Yes, that kind of advertising, that kind of attention, needs to be given to Latinx authors as well, who’s art is just as powerful if not more powerful. But that doesn’t mean we should condemn Jeanine for writing an immensely powerful, emotional, moving work of art because she felt compelled to do so.
Her accomplishment just might do more good than bad for the Latinx community if we give it the opportunity to do so. I hope Ms. Cummins uses this very large platform to elevate those who have been marginalized in the past, and who continue to be marginalized.
I would also like to note two lines pulled from American Dirt that catapulted the novel into the controversial tornado it became. Two lines that, in my opinion, gained unnecessary negative publicity. Or at least one of them. The first was misconstrued, I believe, as a means to fuel a fire that was already mid-blaze, if for no other reason than to hurl the controversy into a full-blown wildfire.
The first quote is this:
Jeanine Cummins, American Dirt
“At worst, we perceive them as an invading mob of resource-draining criminals, and, at best, a sort of helpless, impoverished, faceless brown mass clamoring for help at our doorstep.”
FACELESS BROWN MASS. That did not stick well with a lot of people. Now, when that quote got released, the sentence ended there, naturally painting Jeanine in a negative light as someone who believes Mexican migrants are nothing more than a faceless brown mass. What was missing from the press release was the second half of that quote.
“… We seldom think of them as our fellow human beings. People with agency to make their own decisions, people who can contribute to their own bright futures, and to ours, as so many generations of oft-reviled immigrants have done before them.”
Jeanine Cummins, American Dirt
Now, after reading that, tell me, do you see how her initial quote can be misconstrued?
The second quote is this:
“I wished someone slightly browner than me would write it”
Jeanine Cummins, American Dirt
Now this one made a lot of people angry. I think this is an example of poor word choice on Jeanine’s part, which she agreed to in an interview with Oprah in her AppleTV+ release of Oprah’s Book Club special on American Dirt. In the interview, Jeanine agrees that she regrets using the word slightly browner. She says it came from her own struggle to identify as a member of the Latinx community. Her grandmother is Peurto Rican but given her light complexion, she’s gone most of her life blending in with white society. The racism other Latinx members face every day is not her reality, thus leading to the idea that she is not brown enough to be considered qualified to write this story.
Personally, I find it uncomfortable breaking down another person’s inner demons. Jeanine addressed her wrongdoings and apologized for them. I don’t think she’ll ever consider herself not brown enough again. How can I hold her to that mistake forever?
We’re human. We learn from our mistakes. If someone has honesty apologized for their mistake, I think we should meet him or her halfway and accept it.
We’re not here to drag people down, especially those who mean well.
In Oprah’s AppleTV+ release of American Dirt, Oprah brought a panel of Latinx authors to the stage to discuss the controversy circulating the media. I won’t go into detail (you can watch it for yourself) but I will highlight the one particular consensus among the panel:
Jeanine is NOT to be blamed for American Dirt’s success or it’s controversy.
Jeanine wrote a spectacular story that touched millions of people all around the world. The fault is not hers, but the publishing industry’s, for keeping Latinx authors in the dark. A change needs to be made. We can’t rely on people to tell stories that aren’t their own forever. Jeanine did a wonderful job but it’s time for other Latinx authors to get just as big of a platform.
Their voices need to be heard.
Do I need to go into detail about the storyline? I don’t know if I do. Do this: read the first chapter, just the first, and see if you can put it down.
I have a feeling you won’t be able to.
Jeanine has the prose of a seasoned, prolific author who’s on her 30th publication. Her writing is crisp, tight, and clean. Every chapter inches us closer to an ending that will stick with me for a very, very long time.
I mean, come on, that ending!
The tears!
The love!
Do yourself a favor and order a copy. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
American Dirt can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, or anywhere books are sold.
